Last week, I was driving back from the Target on Merle Hay…and as we were passing Christian Photo, I looked over as I normally do to wave hi to “Big Blue“….but Big Blue was not there, and I was stunned.
If you are on Douglas Avenue…and you’re between 70th & Merle Hay…you’ve seen Big Blue. It’s a giant big, blue, inflatable M&M…at Christmas time, he’s decked out in Christmas apparel…come Halloween, you might see him wrapped like a mummy.
However…there is no Big Blue anymore…as the Curse of 2016 claims another icon. Where Big Blue once proudly stood, now stands a grave marker.
I never knew why Big Blue was out there…yet, when I saw the headstone, I started to feel sad. My kids would wave to Big Blue every time we passed…and it always make me smile when we drove by.
On Tuesday, I thought, heck, I have to get a picture with the Big Blue tombstone. I decided, you know what, I’m not just going to walk onto someone’s lawn and take a picture, I’ll ask first.
I went up to the door and met Julie & John Shimko. They happily gave me permission to take as many pics as I wanted, but asked if I wanted to see the “Museum” as well. A museum? My interest was more than just piqued.
Julie loves M&Ms…there are dispensers in the living room…M&M figurines (including Packer ones)…and oh, Julie has 47 M&M tattoos as well. Fantastic!
Then, the downstairs…the museum…and behold…
I had to go panoramic for this…there was M&M collectibles, figurines, and advertisements covering every inch of the basement. It was amazing….rare figurines…movie posters…plush items…display cases filled with M&M collectibles. I had been to the M&M store in Vegas…and I don’t remember having a reaction anywhere close to what I experienced walking into their basement.
John told me that Big Blue was actually filled with packing peanuts…and over the course of six years of dealing with Iowa winters & summers…Big Blue finally succumbed to the elements.
Since then, the Shimkos told me that people have been dropping off flowers, sympathy cards, and M&M keepsakes.
RIP Big Blue…Rest in Peace!
